A series of attacks against the very existence of SINALTRAINAL have occurred in different regions of Colombia; ranging from a raid on the union’s national headquarters in Bogotá, to the assassination of one of our activists.

These incidents are an example of President Álvaro Uribe Vélez’s policy of ‘democratic security’ and take place at a difficult moment due to labour conflicts with the transnationals NESTLÉ and COCA-COLA.

These are some of the violent incidents against the lives and security of our members:

RAID ON UNION HEADQUARTERS

At approximately 12:15 a.m. on 3rd August 2006, uniformed men who identified themselves as members of SIJIN, the Judicial Police, entered into the headquarters of SINALTRAINAL located at No 35 – 18, 15th Avenue in Bogotá city and proceeded to search the union building stating it was a preventative operation for the upcoming 7th August, the inauguration day of president Álvaro Uribe Vélez. That morning SIJIN agents were seen filming the outside of the union’s headquarters.

This raid was carried out without a judicial order [warrant], being classified curiously as an “act of voluntary registration”.

The raid took place at the very moment that we were informing the world of the good results of the campaigns against Nestlé and Coca-Cola and public protests against the permanent threats and possible judicial actions against our members.

DEATH THREAT AGAINST UNION LEADER

In the morning hours of 18th August 2006 a condolence card was left at the home of comrade Héctor Jairo Paz, a worker at NESTLÉ DE COLOMBIA S.A., and a leader in the Bugalagrande branch of SINALTRAINAL. The condolence card was signed:

“Death to Trade Unionists/ Muerte a sindicalistas.”

Just ten days previously another member of the Executive Comitee of the same Branco was threatened, at the time when we were carryoing out peaceful protests in front of the NESTLÉ plants in Bugalagrande and Bogotá against the unjustified sacking of ninety provisionals [temporary workers] and four workers with indefinite contracts who are SINALTRAINAL members.

TRADE UNION ACTIVIST ASSASSINATED

Comrade CARLOS ARTURO MONTES BONILLA was assassinated at approximately 11:00 p.m. on 17th August 2006. He leaves his partner Maria Elvia Álvarez Delgado and 7 orphaned children. His killing took place near to their home, located to the north of the city of Barrancabermeja.

CARLOS ARTURO had worked for nearly 30 years in the Infants Club for the workers of ECOPETROL [state oil corporation] and he used to participate in protests against the COCA COLA multinational and other trade union activities in this oil port.

Our comrade was a member of SINTRAHOCAR and of SINALTRAINAL; a double membership that he had as a legal mechanism to protect the existence of SINALTRAINAL, due to the attacks on it by corporations like COCA COLA, that have been implementing a criminal policy agsinst the union, by revoking the union’s statutes, impeding the membership of executive committee members, lifting trade union conventional rights and activating a judicial plan toblock our right of association under the so-called “abuse of the law thesis”.

We ask that social organizations and defenders of human rights demand these threats and assassinations against our people stop.

We demand that the competent authorities punish those responsible and the immediate cessation of so-called “voluntary registrations”, given that these are actually a cover-up for raids that put at grave risk the lives of our men and women and the existence of our organizations.

Edgar Páez M.

National Leadership SINALTRAINAL, International Area

Colombia, 20th August 2006

We urge you to send notes of protest to / Pedimos enviar notas de protesta a:

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